Wellsville resident Jim Butler holds a military portrait of his son, Sgt. Jake Butler, who was the first Kansas soldier killed while serving with the Army in Samawa, Iraq, on April 1, 2003. A little more than six months after his son's death, Butler made a journey to Samawa to visit the site where Jake was killed near the Euphrates River.

The Butlers - Jim's wife declined to be interviewed - plan on attending the governor's annual Memorial Day ceremony Monday at the Statehouse.

"We'll be there for Jake," Butler said, "but it's a rough time of year for us. Jake was killed April 1, then you got Mother's Day, then Memorial Day, Father's Day and the Fourth of July. It's pretty emotional until we're well into the summer."

Growing up

Jake liked to hunt, fish and drive his four-wheeler in the pastures behind the house. He graduated from Wellsville High School in 1996.

"He was a typical high school kid," said Randall Renoud, former assistant principal at WHS.

"I wouldn't say he was gifted academically or athletically, but he was very well liked and well respected because he knew the difference between right and wrong, and he knew he wanted to do something with his life," Renoud said.

"He was the kind of kid that every principal loves to have," he said. "You could joke with him, you could be serious with him. If he made a mistake - hey, I probably had him in my office a time or two - he'd own up to it and say 'OK, gimme the consequences so we could get on down the road.'"

Jim and Cindy Butler have dedicated a wall in their home to memorialize their son. Among some of the items are his wartime medals, including the Purple Heart, dog tags, photographs and a wood carving of his military portrait.

"He was killed," Butler said. "That shook Jake up pretty bad."

A few months later, Jake let his father know he was thinking about joining the Army. He enlisted in November, re-enlisted in 2001.

"Jake wanted to make a difference," Butler said. "He didn't want to just have a job someplace. That wasn't enough."

'An ambush'

A calvary scout, Jake was sent to Kuwait in 1999, 2002 and again on March 2, 2003. Three weeks later, U.S. troops moved into Iraq. He was there.

"On the news, they said he was killed by an RPG - a rocket-propelled grenade," Butler said. "But I had guys who were there tell me that's not what happened."

Butler said Jake's unit had been sent to find out whether a bridge on the Euphrates River in As Samawa was sturdy enough for armored vehicles to drive across.

When they got there, Butler said, the lead Humvee was hit with an RPG fired from across the river. Jake's Humvee pulled up beside the lead vehicle in an attempt to defend and rescue the wounded. At that point, Butler said, 25 Iraqi soldiers who had been hiding behind nearby berms opened fire on Jake's vehicle.

"Basically, it was an ambush," he said. "They had him on three sides."

Army records - Butler insisted on seeing them - showed the door on Jake's side of the Humvee was hit 14 times.

"Jake only got hit once, right here," he said, pointing to a spot about an inch above and a little in front of his right ear.

"It came out here." He pointed to a spot by his left ear.

"You can get the Internet still today and find stories that say Jake was killed by an RPG," Butler said. "But that's not what happened."

Posthumously, Jake received Silver Star and Bronze Star medals and a Purple Heart. All three, along with Jake's dress uniform, a dozen framed commendations, and the American flag that adorned his coffin, are displayed on a wall in the Butlers' living room.

"You know that (controversy) about them not letting the media take pictures of the coffins coming out of Iraq with flags on them?" Butler said. "Jake's coffin didn't have a flag. He was killed in April, they didn't get flags (for coffins) over there until August."

Not coming back

Four months after Jake's death, his platoon sergeant, Josh Corkrean, hand-delivered a letter Jake wrote - but hadn't mailed - two hours before he was killed.

"It starts out, 'Well, if you're reading this, you know I didn't make it,'" Butler said. "He says when he gets to heaven he'll tell everybody hello and that he loves them. And then he says, 'Don't forget about me.'"

Earlier, Jake had confided in his father that he'd had dreams in which he encountered LeRoy.

"In the dream, John LeRoy tells him, 'Jake, it's time for you to come live with God and me,'" Butler said. "I know Jake, he wouldn't make something like that up. I believe he knew he wasn't coming back that day."

Corkrean assured Butler that if he had known about the dreams, he wouldn't have let Jake go on the mission.

"I said, 'Yeah, and he would have kicked your ass, too,'" Butler said. "There would have been no stopping him."

The last time Jake was home, he and his twin brother, Jim Jr., and his father gathered in the graveled lot beside the house.

"I told both of them that if anything happened to Jake, I was headed for Iraq," Butler said. "That was the promise I made to him - to both of them, really."

The night after Jake's funeral, Butler filled out the paperwork for a passport.

"When I got it, I wrote the Kuwait Embassy in Washington and asked for a visa," he said. "They sent me a form that said 'What do you plan to do when you're in Kuwait?' and I put down that I needed to pass through Kuwait to get to Samawa, where my son had had been killed."

Two weeks later, Butler said, his visa arrived in the mail.

A pilgrimage

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., told him not to go. "I got a letter from him, advising me that it was dangerous and not wise to go," Butler said, pausing.

"My son was killed in Iraq. You think I don't know it's dangerous?"

U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., discouraged him, too.

"He actually came out here April 2nd or 3rd - drove up, introduced himself. I didn't know who he was," Butler said. "He asked me if there was anything he could do, and I said two things: 'I'd like my family to meet the president, and I need to get to Iraq.'"

According to Butler, Brownback said meeting the president "could be done," but going to Iraq was not a good idea.

"He didn't think he could help me there," Butler said, "which, I understand. If anything happened to me, it'd be political suicide for him. I didn't hear from him after that - no call, no letter. But that's OK, I respect the situation he and Roberts are in."

Butler left for Kuwait on Oct. 10, 2003. It was his first time on an airplane.

"When I got to the airport in Kuwait City at 11:30 p.m., there was a lady holding up a sign that said 'Mr. Butler,'" he said. "It was pretty obvious - the way I looked - I was the only Mr. Butler in the place. So I said 'Are you looking for me?'"

Soon joined by three men, all Americans, Butler was escorted to Camp Doha, an Army base in Kuwait.

"It made a lot of people mad that I was there - I understand that," Butler said. "But my son had been killed, and I was there to keep a promise. That's all there was to it."

The first and last

After two days of negotiations, Army officials agreed to take Butler to the site of Jake's death.

"Twenty-five soldiers volunteered for the mission," he said. "Three Blackhawk helicopters took us to within two miles of the bridge. We walked the rest of the way in."

At the bridge, Butler played two CDs. The first had the five songs played at Jake's funeral:

¢ "Sgt. McKenzie" from the "We Were Soldiers" movie soundtrack.

¢ "Proud to be An American," by Lee Greenwood.

¢ "Darling be Home Soon," by Loving Spoonful.

¢ "Only Time," by Enya

¢ "I Believe," by Diamond Rio.

The second CD had one song, John Lennon's ode to an oppression-free world, "Imagine."

"Before he left for Iraq, Jake and I went to Best Buy to get him a stereo and some speakers he could hot-wire into his Humvee - everything over there is hot-wired," Butler said. "I saw this John Lennon CD. He'd never heard Imagine, so I got it for him."

After he played the CDs, Butler turned to his escort, Col. Jeff Snow. "He said, 'What are you going to do now?'' Butler said. "I gave him the first CD, I threw the other one in the Euphrates River, and then I turned to him and I said, 'I've kept my promise, I'm going home.'"

Butler said he's not heard of another parent of a soldier killed in Iraq making a similar journey.

"I'm pretty sure I was the first and the last," he said.

'He believed in freedom'

Butler still has trouble explaining how his going to Iraq became such an all-consuming quest and why he risked his life - and the lives of others - just to play some CDs next to a bridge.

"I don't know how to put it into words, but Jake and I were connected. You could call it a spiritual thing," he said.

"I'll say this: The way I was raised - and the way I've raised my boys - when you make a promise, you keep it. Big or little doesn't matter, you keep it," he said. "You make it right."

Three years after Jake's death, Butler refused to criticize or even question President Bush's decision to invade Iraq. He said simply, "Regardless of what you think about the war, you have to support our troops 100 percent."

He has no use for Cindy Sheehan, the California mother whose soldier son, Casey Sheehan, was killed in Iraq and who has been outspoken in her opposition to the war.

"I feel like what she's doing is a disgrace," Butler said.

It's galling, he said, because Sheehan is taking advantage of the freedom that Jake and others died defending.

"I guess she has the right to do what she's doing," he said. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Though Butler's support for the troops and Bush is unwavering, he is quick to criticize the government.

"I was raised to believe that the people are the government. It's not that way anymore," he said. "Big corporations run the government now. The working people have no say.

"The politicians - Republicans and Democrats - argue all the time, they're like little children fighting over a piece of candy."

But aren't the quarreling politicians the same people who put Jake in harm's way? And isn't the government that's beholden to special interests the same government that saw fit to attack Iraq?

"That's what people don't understand," Butler said. "Jake didn't die for the government or the politicians, he died fighting for something he believed in - he believed in freedom. Those are two different things."

More like this story on LJWorld.com

Comments

That is a truly amazing and moving story of a father's love for his son. At 28 I'm the same age that Jake would have been if he would have made it home. My Dad and I share a similar bond as Jake's Dad mentioned in this story. Mr. Butler you are an amazing man and you can bet that your son is very proud of you for what you did in his honor. I am very sorry for your loss, Jake will never be forgotten by your family and because of your brave journey, he will never be forgotten by the people who love this country. He fought for the rights, privileges, and life of freedom that we all enjoy here daily. God bless you and your family.

Excellent story about an outstanding soldier. I disagree with his father's decision to go to Iraq simply to play some CD's, considering he put the lives of other soldiers in danger to do so.

Very enlightening that Presidential-hopeful Sam Brownback dropped him like a hot potato when he couldn't sway Mr. Butler from going. What happened to getting his family to meet the President? Great demonstration of his commitment to Kansas citizens...

Wow. This story is so touching -- what an amazing way for a father to say a final goodbye to his son. It is very clear from this story that this young soldier will never be forgotten.
It is only because of these brave men and women -- and the families who love them -- that we are able to share our thoughts in public and not be afraid.
God bless the Butler family!!

Three years after Jake's death, Butler refused to criticize or even question President Bush's decision to invade Iraq. He said simply, "Regardless of what
you think about the war, you have to support our troops 100 percent."

He has no use for Cindy Sheehan, the California mother whose soldier son, Casey Sheehan, was killed in Iraq and who has been outspoken in her opposition
to the war.

"I feel like what she's doing is a disgrace," Butler said.

It's galling, he said, because Sheehan is taking advantage of the freedom that Jake and others died defending.

"I guess she has the right to do what she's doing," he said. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Macon47: apparently, you cannot read very well. I said that I think that this soldier sounds like he was an excellent soldier and individual. I applaud his father's efforts to "not forget him" (though, in all honesty, who could "forget" a child). I do, however, disagree with him putting other soldiers/Marines in harm's way just so he could play some CD's at the spot that he died. It's very selfish to risk the lives of those other soldiers/Marines (& the lives of their families - b/c a soldier's death doesn't just affect that one person) simply b/c you imagine that your son would have wanted you to see the spot that he was killed.

I also never said that I didn't like Bush. In fact, I challenge you to find the spot where I said that! I think that Brownback is a slimy, snivelling worm.

Fatty, as the wife of a soldier, and especially the wife of a soldier who was shot 4 times in this ambush and a freind of Jacob's I had the pleasure of spending the day with the Butler and I assure you there was not selfishness involved with Jim's decision. The entire family has suffered and guys volunteered to take him. Unless you are involved or close to it I dont think anyone could understand the reasons, I applaud it. I have sat on thier couch watched them cry and seen the entire family and ate with them, let me tell you this family is one of them most AWESOME familes ever made. i think more people should be touched by the love and loyalty things lacking in todays world.

Mr Butler, I don't know if you recall any of us who escorted you that day, but I was the soldier who carried the radio and the GPS and guided you to the spot where you played the music. I know we did not have much opportunity to speak with you that day, but what you did brought our entire group of Military Police to tears. Your loss is one we all share. You showed incredible courage making that journey, and are an inspiration to those of us who continue to serve. God bless you sir.